Madness Concerts 1970s
The Invaders *Mike Barson - Piano *Chris Foreman - Guitar *Lee Thompson - Sax *John Hasler - Drums *Carl Smyth - Bass *Dikran Tulaine - Vocals 1977 June 30, 1977 8 Compton Terrace, London, ENG  (The Invaders play their first gig at a party in the back garden of friend Si Birdsall, directly opposite The Hope and Anchor pub. The band originally planned to call themselves The Pirates after a party hat in the back of their van, but Chris then tells Mike about Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. The singer Dikran Tulaine, has the lyrics written in a book, but it’s too dark to read, so the band play instrumentals instead. Among the meagre audience is a young 16-year-old skinhead called Graham McPherson) Setlist: Jailhouse Rock / Swan Lake / I’m Walking / Lover Please / Just My Imagination / For Once In My Life / It’s Too Late / The Roadette Song. Graham 'Suggs' McPherson Replaces Dikran Tulaine on vocals Late 1977: Hampstead Trade Hall, London, ENG (A birthday-party for Mike’s school friend Evelyn. First song See You later Alligator goes down well with the Teddy Boys in attendance, unlike the reggae oriented songs. John Hasler gets hit in the head by a beer can but bravely plays on despite all the blood) 1978 February 1978 City & East London College, London, ENG (The Invaders’ third gig is in Pitfield Street, with Suggs on vocals. It’s their first gig in a proper venue, but minus Carl and Lee, who have left after arguments with Barso about a lift home (Carl) and musical differences (Lee).  In to replace them come Gavin Rogers on bass and Lucinda Garland on sax. Lucinda leaves soon after this gig (her only one) to go to uni) April 5, 1978 Nightingale Pub, London, ENG (Now living with his parents in Luton, Lee returns for a one-off appearance, bringing with him a WEM amplifier and a sax microphone stand (which he forgets after the gig). The band are refused any further bookings here after neighbours complain of noise) April 22, 1978 Gavin Rogers's house (A birthday party for Gavin’s father) Gavin Rogers leaves as he can’t stand the lack of organisation and Suggs is sacked as he spends more time watching Chelsea FC then attending rehearsals July 3, 1978 William Ellis Secondary School (Suggs was in the audience watching. The gig, a free concert for all the kids in the school, was co-arranged by William Ellis pupil Mark Bedford, the replacement bassist for Gavin Rodgers. Mark brings along a new drummer, Garry Dovey. After a successful audition, John Hasler takes over vocals from Suggs. They hired a PA and printed tickets to make it seem like a proper event) July 3, 1978 The 3Cs Club, London, ENG (Suggs was again in the audience watching) Garry Dovey is chucked out of the band by Lee so Suggs comes back on drums. When John Hasler goes on holiday to France, so Suggs takes over the vocals. Daniel Woodgate is brought in as drummer. On his return John Hasler is elected manager *Mike Barson - Piano *Chris Foreman - Guitar *Lee Thompson - Sax *Daniel 'Woody' Woodgate - Drums *Mark 'Bedders' Bedford - Bass *Graham 'Suggs' McPherson - Vocals *Carl Smyth - MC Summer 1978 a shop in Hampstead (with Suggs back on vocals) November 9, 1978 Blind Alley Factory, London, ENG (Supported by The Spotty Dogs, The Invaders, minus Lee, perform at a birthday party for the director of the Blind Alley in Camden, where Mark is taking a screen printing apprenticeship. When New Song – later to be My Girl – debuts with Barso on vocals, someone shouts from the crowd, ‘Where’s the sax player?’ The culprit is Lee himself, who rejoins by the end of the year) November 10, 1978 Acklam Hall, London, ENG (supporting The Tribesmen & The Valves) November 10, 1978 Middlesex Poly (Two more songs, both written by Suggs, are added to the set: I Lost My Head and In The Middle Of the Night, the story of a knicker thief called George. Mike has also written another new song, Grey Day, played in a similar arrangement to Roxy Music’s Bogus Man. Carl has returned to the group as nutty compere, offering various shouts and fancy footwork. Major trouble erupts after the Acklam gig, and the band are lucky to get out alive, no thanks to the local skinhead firm but helped by Carl and future crew members Chalky and Ian Tokins, AKA Toks. After the riot, The Invaders play a dissatisfying show at Middlesex Poly, where members of the student union pull the band off stage one by one for exceeding the time limit (Chalky and Toks put them back). Si Birdsall’s brother Jesse damages the toilets and The Invaders are held responsible) 1979 January 1, 1979 The London Film-Makers Co-op (supporting The Nips (Shane McGowan’s punk band) & The Millwall Chainsaws. Due to the frosty weather only three people turn up, who immediately leave once The Invaders have finished. The set now includes seven of their own songs and Lee takes the vocals for Razor Blade Alley, while Suggs and Chris swap roles for Memories (later the B-side of Grey Day). The encore sees them play Suggs’ first composition, I Lost My Head. A change of name is now a priority as another band called The Invaders have been offered a contract by Sham 69 singer Jimmy Pursey) Setlist: Sunshine Voice / Roadette Song / Rich Girls / My Girl / Tears of A Clown / Razor Blade Alley / You Said / Mistakes / Madness / Memories / Shoparound / Believe Me / Swan Lake / ENCORE: I Lost My Head . January 7, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (with The Immigrants & The Tribesmen. The band are late, so have to cut short their set) February 16, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG (with ABC) Madness February 22, 1979 The Music Machine, London, ENG (supporting Sore Throat. Billed as Morris and the Minors, but with a few hours’ notice they change their name to Madness, after the Prince Buster hit. Carl joins the band onstage to dance) May 3, 1979 Hope & Anchor, London , ENG May 4, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (supporting Sore Throat) May 5, 1979 Hope & Anchor, London , ENG (A SPECIALS GIG. The band decide to check out The Specials after they mention Madness in Melody Maker, saying they’re the only other group in Britain playing the same kind of music. Struggling through the crowd, which include's Mick Jagger, Suggs and Mike rush over to talk to Jerry Dammers. He tells them he’s trying to set up his own label called 2-Tone, which he can sign other bands to. With no bed for the night, Dammers ends up kipping on Suggs’ floor and, as a thank you, offers Madness a support slot in London the following month) May 7, 1979 The Windsor Castle, London, ENG (Only eight people turn up for this gig. Lee asks the biggest of them to collect their fees. Each band member gets 50p) June 8, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (Supporting The Specials. The show stirs so much interest that ticketless fans cause a riot and have to be dragged out by cops. An impressed Dammers offers Madness a contract for releasing one single on 2-Tone.) June 8, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG (Due to this earlier support slot at the Nashville Rooms, Madness nearly miss this gig in front of 300 people – the first of their regular residency shows. Lee asks Carl to announce Madness, which he does with a speech based on the intro of Prince Buster’s Scorcher and Dave & Ansel Collins’s Monkey Spanner. Rather than leaving the stage afterwards, he stays to dance) June 15, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG June 22, 1979 Pathway Studios, London, ENG (FIRST RECORDING SESSION: The Prince, My Girl, with Mike singing and Madness. Clive Langer gets £200 from Warner Bros and the band go into Pathway Studios for the first time (an earlier demo session is cancelled after Woody gets lost on the way). The recording and mixing takes place over one weekend) June 24, 1979 Hope & Anchor, London , ENG (Before coming on, Suggs hands out singles to winners of the previous week’s competition. Two cover versions are played in the encore – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ Shoparound and Rockin’ In Ab, originally by Bazooka Joe, whose singer is Mike’s brother Danny) June 28, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (supporting The Specials) June 29, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG (Carl does not appear tonight) July 3, 1979  Moonlight Club, London, ENG (With only one PA for the vocals, Suggs and Chris swap places for the bluesy ballad Memories) July 6, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG July 8, 1979 Hope & Anchor, London , ENG July 14, 1979 Eric's, Liverpool, ENG (2 shows, supporting The Specials, although Madness go on last) July 21, 1979 Electric Ballroom, London, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter. Ticket demand is so overwhelming that Camden High Street is practically blocked off. They join The Specials and The Selecter at the end for "Long Shot Kick De Bucket") July 28, 1979 Archway Tavern, London, ENG July 29, 1979 Lyceum, London, ENG (supporting The Pretenders & Interview. Chas is wheeled on in a large cardboard box and bursts out for the opening of One Step Beyond. Backstage the band show off their graffiti skills on the dressing room walls. They’re told they won’t be booked for another gig until they have come back and repainted them. July 30, 1979 The Pied Bull, London, ENG (as Doll By Doll. A small ad In Melody Maker credits this show to Doll By Doll. Carl wears mirrored shades made by Lee’s girlfriend Debbie. When Carl sees a fan scattering cigarette ash in his girlfriend’s hair, he jumps off stage in between them and gets kicked by a skinhead in steel Doc Martens. The skinhead apologises) July 31, 1979  No1 Club, London, ENG (supported by The Effect) August 4, 1979  Hope & Anchor, London , ENG (John Hasler doesn’t turn up tonight as his squatmate Barry has fled with the band’s £350 savings. Carl, Mike and a few friends track him down to Milton Keynes the next day. On August 7th, Barry pleads guilty and has to pay a £150 fine on top of returning the cash) August 10, 1979 Dublin Castle, London, ENG (Madness play a launch concert for the release of their first single, "The Prince") August 14, 1979 UK Radio "John Peel show". Mike takes the vocals for a slowed-down version of Bed & Breakfast Man while Lee turns loose in Land Of Hope And Glory, a Sergeant Major story based on his experiences at Chafford Approved School. Broadcast on August 27th) Setlist: The Prince / Bed & Breakfast Man / Land Of Hope And Glory / Steppin’ Into Line. August 15, 1979 Rock Garden, London, ENG (supported by Swedish punks The Rude Boys, who Woody lends his drum kit to, as they couldn’t afford to bring their own) August 17, 1979 Clarendon Ballroom, London, ENG (Madness play at Dave Robinson’s wedding reception. Guests include Stiff stars Ian Dury and Elvis Costello. Elvis was dragged on stage to dance) August 20-21, 1979 Hope & Anchor, London , ENG (a two-night stint without Carl) August 24, 1979 Eric's, Liverpool, ENG (A riot occurs after the gig) August 25, 1979 Witcombe Lodge, Brockworth, ENG (supporting Pam Nestor) August 26, 1979 Lyceum, London, ENG (Madness are special guests on the March Of The Mods Tour, which combines Britain’s two biggest crazes – ska and Mods – the latter revived by the recent Qudrophenia movie. Supporting Secret Affair, with The Selecter, Purple Hearts & Back To Zero) August 31, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (supported by The Vapors & Working Boys) September 1, 1979 Factory Club, Manchester, ENG (Madness’s first concert in Manchester fails to sell out and is marred by poor sound quality. Afterwards the band fight with troublemakers in the audience) September 3, 1979 Madness sign to Stiff Records September 5, 1979 BBC Television Centre, London, ENG (UK TV "Top Of The Pops" performing "The Prince". Broadcast September 6th) September 5, 1979 Dingwalls, London, ENG (supported by King Sound & The Israelites . The band ask The Specials, currently working on their self-titled debut album, if they can use their PA for the show) September 8, 1979 Friars, Aylesbury, ENG (supporting Secret Affair, with The Stowaways and Suire. Carl arrived late because he missed the train and learns that the band are playing One Step Beyond without his intro, much to the crowd’s displeasure. He receives a hero’s welcome and gets the opportunity to announce it during the reprise) September 9, 1979 Nashville Rooms, London, ENG (Madness again borrow The Specials’ PA for the show, supported by Beatty) September 19, 1979 BBC Television Centre, London, ENG (UK TV "Top Of The Pops" performing "The Prince". Broadcast September 20th) October 2, 1979 Warwick University October 4, 1979 Brannigan's, Leeds, ENG (supported by News) October 5, 1979 Porterhouse, Retford, ENG October 6, 1979 Huddersfield Polytechnic, Huddersfield, ENG October 8, 1979 Civic Hall, Oldham, ENG October 9, 1979 The Limit, Sheffield, ENG October 10, 1979 Nottingham University, Nottingham, ENG (supporting Merton Parkas) October 11, 1979 Hull University, Hull, ENG October 12, 1979 Electric Ballroom, Camden, ENG (supported by Bad Manners & Echo & The Bunnymen. Apart from skinheads and other ska fans, the band’s music and image also appeal to neo-Nazis who bring violence to some gigs. The Bunnymen fall victim and are booed off after two songs. Suggs unsuccessfully tries to calm things down, with the situation not leaving Madness’s set unaffected) October 13, 1979 Brighton Polytechnic, Brighton, ENG (Supported by The Lambrettas. Again, neo-Nazis turn up to spoil the gig) October 15-17, 1979 Roundhouse, London, ENG (Three days of rehearsals for the upcoming 2-Tone tour) October 19, 1979 Top Rank, Brighton, ENG (The 2-Tone UK tour starts on Woody’s 19th birthday, supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) Set list: One Step Beyond / Mistakes / Believe Me / My Girl / Swan Lake / Razor Blade Alley / Land Of Hope & Glory / In The Middle Of The Night / Bed & Breakfast Man / Tarzan’s Nuts / Rockin’ In Ab / Night Boat To Cairo / Madness / The Prince. Encore: Shop Around. October 20, 1979 Oasis, Swindon, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 21, 1979 Stateside Centre, Bournemouth, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 22, 1979 Exeter University, Exeter, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 23, 1979 Fiesta Suite, Plymouth, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 25, 1979 Kimberley Recreational Hall, Nottingham, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 26, 1979 University of East Anglia, Norwich, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 27, 1979 Hatfield Polytechnic, Hatfield, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter. The violence reaches an all-time low: anti-fascists invade the Poly while chasing neo-Nazis and inevitably hurt innocent bystanders and cause £1,000 worth of damage. Affected by the news that 10 youths are hospitalised, Carl decides that he can not perform. The media make Madness scapegoats as they’re the only all-white band on the tour, and have the largest appeal for skinheads) October 28, 1979 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 29, 1979 Top Rank, Birmingham, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 30, 1979 Golden Palms, Blackburn, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) October 31, 1979 Victoria Hall, Hanley, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 1, 1979  Apollo, Manchester, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 2, 1979  University of Lancaster, Lancaster, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 4, 1979  Top Rank, Sheffield, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 5, 1979  De Montfort Hall, Leicester, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 6, 1979  Guild Hall, Portsmouth, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 7, 1979 BBC Television Centre, London, ENG (UK TV "Top of the Pops", with The Specials & The Selecter (who pre-recorded on the 6th) performing "One Step Beyond". Broadcast on November 8th) November 7, 1979  Top Rank, Cardiff, WAL (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 8, 1979  King’s Hall, Derby, ENG (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter. The night before they find that portable TVs and clothes had been stolen from the coach during the show, and police involvements keep them in Cardiff longer than the schedule intended. As in Brighton, the sound check is cut, giving Madness enough time to hunt for a place to watch their own Top of the Pops performance. They end up asking the staff of taxi firm Eagle Cars to tape it in return for signed copies of the One Step Beyond single and free entry to the show. A power failure occurs during the first song and after an onstage sound check it becomes clear that the bass and organ are not working properly. The other bands come to the rescue by lending their instruments even though time is running out. Madness play a five-song set during which Carl plugs Eagle Cars) November 9, 1979  Mayfair, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ENG (Madness decide to alter the set for a change tonight – Tarzan’s Nuts has One Step Beyond’s ‘Hey you…’ intro attached. Madness closes the main set, after which they return to play The Prince) November 10, 1979  Stirling University, Stirling, SCOT (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 11, 1979  Glasgow, SCOT (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 12, 1979  Tiffany’s, Edinburgh, SCOT (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 13, 1979  Ruffles, Aberdeen, SCOT (supporting The Specials, with The Selecter) November 14, 1979  Pavilion, Ayr, SCOT (Madness play their last date on the 2-Tone tour as they leave to tour the USA) November 15, 1979  Market Hall, Carlisle, ENG (CANCELLED. Dexys Midnight Runners replace Madness on the 2-Tone Tour) November 16-18, 1979  Electric Ballroom, London, ENG (supported by Red Beans & Rice & Bad Manners. A lot of neo-Nazis get hold of tickets and chant 'Sieg Heil' at Red Beans & Rice, because their lead singer is black) November 21, 1979  Irving Plaza, New York City, NY November 22, 1979  Mudd Club, New York City, NY November 23, 1979  Hurrah, New York City, NY November 24, 1979  Paradise Club, Boston, MA (2 shows, with the Atlantics) November 25, 1979  Tier 3, New York City, NY November 26, 1979  Hot Club, Philadelphia, PA November 27, 1979  Austin, TX November 29, 1979  Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco, CA November 28-December 2, 1979 Whisky A Go Go, West Hollywood, CA (2 shows each night, supporting The Go-Go’s. Due to overwhelming success they’re promoted to headliners for the last night. British film-maker Joe Massot watches the final show and is so impressed he says he wants to make a short film about the band. His son Jason tells him to check out the other 2-Tone bands too. In early 1980 Massot will captures live performances by Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, Bad Manners and the newly-formed Bodysnatchers for his Dance Craze film) December 11, 1979 UK TV "The Old Grey Whistle Test " performing Bed and Breakfast Man & Night Boat To Cairo) December 12, 1979 Top Rank, Brighton , ENG December 13, 1979 Pavilion, Hemel Hempstead, ENG December 14, 1979 Odeon, Canterbury, ENG December 15, 1979 Sports Centre, Bracknell, ENG December 16, 1979 Stateside Centre, Bournemouth, ENG December 17, 1979 Pier Pavilion, Hastings, ENG December 18, 1979 UK TV "Multi-Coloured Swap Shop" December 20, 1979 Victoria Hall, Hanley, ENG December 21, 1979 King’s Hall, Derby, ENG December 22, 1979 De Montfort Hall, Leicester, ENG December 23, 1979 Locarno, Bristol, ENG December 28, 1979 Lyceum, London, ENG (Supported by The Bodysnatchers, The VIPs & Bad Manners) December 29, 1979 Friars, Aylesbury , ENG December 30, 1979 Lyceum, London, ENG (supported by The Bodysnatchers, The VIPs & Bad Manners) December 31, 1979 The Venue, London, ENG (supporting Secret Affair. Third on the bill is Bette Bright, Suggs’s future wife. Proceeds of the show are donated to Multiple Sclerosis research)